Last Update: Tuesday March 31, 2020

Advertising As Art

Index of a few letters by topic and author

Topic Focus / Author Episode

Critics Internet / Gloria Internet Basics
Mo's / Joseph Mo's

Education College / Thomson       Favorites #1 & #2
          HS / Coyman                 Related episode
      HS / Bonetti             Chocolate Crickets
                          Learn from All

Help! Internet / Bernadette Staying Power

Indexes Index of Learning Companies

Industries Type of Business: Restaurants

Key Ideas    Cash Flow / Gardiner    Many
Compensation              Many
Financials / Stickney         Related episode
GPS-based Cities            $0-to-$1B
                Incubators / Shamiso
Podcasts / Gardiner
                      Retirement / Anderson
      Services (Professsional)   Many
        Advertising, Architecture, Animation, Design
SWOT Analysis / Anderson

Paths & Steps An Idea / Jason
Start Up / Cope

Producers We are all Producers

Thanks From Cliff Prescott, Fat Towels

A few Open Letters over the years

February 27, 2015: Advertising As An Artform (this page)

December 2014: Taking on the Crisis in the Middle East

August 14, 2012: The US Budget, Deficit, and Innovation

March 22, 2012: Log in to update your account

November 16, 2011: Sergey Brin, Google

August 2011: Economists are clueless!?! But, you're not!

August 2011: We all must participate (Barack Obama)

25 July 2011: NYT Nick Kristof, Bonuses for Billionaires

July 2011: Economic Development Project for the 30/90

February 2011: Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education

September 2010: Stephen Hawking and Len Mlodinow's
Grand Design: It is not as grand as they think.

March 2009: 60/60: A Beginning for GPS-based Cities
Referred to as Priceless-Cheap Real Estate, this letter might be considered the simple beginning of a billion-dollar idea.

January 2009: President Barack H. Obama
Encourage the unemployed to start a business

October 2008: Hugh McColl, Jr., a Chairman, Bank of America on "60 Minutes" says"There is nothing good about being small."

May 2007: New York Times Launches Small Business Video based entirely on the Small Business School episodes

Friday, February 27, 2015
Updated and Redelivered: March 3, 2015

References:
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXPyIv2WLdI
Behind the scenes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XHvuKQNMfk
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Vistaprint
Analysis - http://great-ads.blogspot.com/2015/02/vistaprint-celebrates-bond-of-father.html

Robert Keane
CEO, founder
Vistaprint, Lexington, Massachsuetts

Dear Mr. Keane:

Congratulations on your 20 year legacy. Most people, including my wife and I, just shut it down and move on. The question for all of us is, once you start, how do you take your equity out but leave the heart in, make it stronger, and gracefully depart and be the mentor - wise counselor thereafter.

Your advertising campaign with Charlie Barrett is sensational.

Of course, Charlie will face the same problem his father faced when he (Charlie) went off for greener pastures. We would all cry if our legacy walked out the door. Now that he's back, what can Charlie do to take Barrett & Sons to the next level? ...how will he handle his dad's aging? ...how about his own children? ...franchising? ...IPO? You could build on this advertising campaign and have Charlie do it all.

Perhaps there is some product that Charlie can create that every grocer in the world wants to carry. Stonefire Tandoor Baked Naan is a fine example (it's a favorite of mine). If you, Vistaprint, keep all these developments in house (as you have done to date), and if you have your viewing public help Charlie come up with that "perfect" product, you all could end up diversifying!

The song and lyrics can change with every new ad.

You'vre started the process of rebranding Vistaprint. Liam Shannon, Kim DiVincenzo, Maura Larose, and Greg Gray are to be congratulated (of course, along with you). You have a platform. How can everything about that platform become more provocative, deep, and caring? If you can get your current music and lyrics out from the ad -- perhaps you can make stars out of Sheldon Mirowitz (Verite Music) and Matthew Koma (singer). As the story grows, the father and son, Simon Slater and Stuart Neal, could become stars as well.

Yes, congratulations indeed. We are all anxious to see what you do with your rising stars. Best wishes.

Most sincerely,

Bruce

------------------------------

Bruce Camber

Small Business School, the series once on PBS-TV

throughout the USA and VOA-TV around the world

http://SmallBusinessSchool.org

PS. Who wrote the lyrics? ...Sheldon Mirowitz?

"Time is moving at the speed of light
Engines cold, the fires bright
Miles and miles we go tonight

Hold on tight

There are things we cannot know
How far it is we have to go
Found a space we need to grow
Until we go home

There will always come a time
You probably thought I lost my mind
When the light obscures the view
The dreamer searches for a clue
Looks to find somewhere that's true
What to do.....

Oohhhh oohhhh oohhhh

Miles and miles to go tonight

Mmmmm oohhh

Hold on tight
Hold on tight
Hold on tight